God's Christmas Message: This Gift is For You! - Luke 2: 10-12

And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger – Luke 2:10-12.

They expected it to be a night like most others. The shepherds had gathered the sheep into their enclosures and prepared for a long, boring night. Boring was good – no excitement like thieves or wolves that might break into the sheep pen and cause a panic. That would not be good.

But it would not be a night like most others, nor would it be boring. God had a little surprise in store. Its rather interesting, I think, that God’s surprises like to come in the night, in the midst of darkness. The creation was in darkness when God spoke light into existence. The children of Israel were locked into their homes when the angel of death passed over their Egyptian homes marked with the Passover lamb’s blood. And before it was sunrise, while it was still dark, our Lord rose from the dead on the first Easter morning, ready to show Himself to the faithful.

Now, on this night, when most of Bethlehem was sleeping, a single angel appears to those shepherds with the announcement: And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. That announcement, and everything that followed, is what we and Christians the world over celebrate tonight. We celebrate because Jesus is the gift from God who comes for you.

Christmas celebrations have varied a great deal from time to time and place to place. Just consider the music, hymns and carols that are sung around the world. Or, in our Western culture, Christmas celebrations include elements like parties and plays, church and school celebrations, caroling and cards, lights and trees, candles and dinners – just to name a few. It would be hard for us to imagine our Christmases without some of these things.

It might be hardest of all to imagine Christmas without any of the gifts that will be given and received in the days ahead. Ever since the real story of St. Nicholas – the real pastor of the Church in the 4^th century who is said to have given gold coins anonymously so that poor, young maidens could marry, Christians have followed in his footsteps by giving gifts. Even where and where there is extreme poverty, parents try to find some way to give a little something to their children. It may be the simplest toys or hand-made clothes. My dad remembered getting an orange, and being excited because it was such a rare luxury.

But, gifts don’t make Christmas, any more than candles make it a birthday. Christmas is about Jesus. He is the one gift that truly matters. Without Jesus, we can have a holiday but we cannot have a HOLY day. We can receive good gifts without acknowledging that they came from God, but we cannot receive the perfect gift because He is the perfect gift.

So, who was this Jesus? You heard of him tonight. What makes him such a great and perfect gift? You heard that, too. This baby is the Savior, who is Christ the Lord. What God had promised to Adam and Eve, way back in the Garden of Eden, then repeated to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and again through all of the prophets, had finally come to pass. Jesus is born.

Stop and think about that one word: born. The eternal God is born. The Creator becomes creature. He enters a womb to grow and develop, to experience birth in the crying form of a baby. All the mess and pain that mothers and newborns know today, Mary and Jesus experienced 2000 years ago. But, God arrived in such a simple way the angel wanted to make sure the shepherds didn’t miss it. This Baby wouldn’t be born in a palace or surrounded by political and religious leaders. You will find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.  

Jesus is a gift. We did not create Him, or invent Him. We did not even deserve Him. His very name, Jesus, tells us what He will be. Jesus means “savior.” Jesus came to earth to be our Savior – to rescue us from our sinful condition that deserved condemnation.

Although the birth was in keeping with the promises, the promises were not yet fulfilled. There was more to come. Jesus would grow as a child into manhood. He would conduct His earthly ministry for about three years, finally culminating at the cross where He offers Himself as payment for the sins of the world. The old Christmas carol asks and answers the question that is most important: “What child is this who laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?... This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing.” The song continues, “Nails, spear shall pierce him through, the cross be borne for me, for you.” This carol reminds us of the reality of what Jesus is, and what He has come to do to save. He would again be wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid, not in a borrowed manger among the animals, but a borrowed tomb among the dead.

But, that would not be the end. As Christmas was the celebration of the birth of Jesus, Easter will be the celebration of new birth of resurrection. The death-payment, the debt-payment of sin would be paid in full by Him, God’s Son, Mary’s Son, born to be Savior, born to die, born so that we might live.

Forgiveness and life… purchased and won… so they can be given… as a gift… when God gives the gift of Jesus.

Of everything that the angels said to the shepherds, there is nothing more important than two little words: for you. If a gift isn’t directed to someone, it has no value, it has no worth. Everything Jesus did – everything from womb to tomb – was done for you: singular, individual, one person.

The gift of Jesus was for the shepherds – who resided near the bottom of the social ladder of the time. The same gift, the same Jesus, was there for the Wise Men who arrived to see the toddler Jesus some time later. The Wise Men were at the top of the social ladder, but they were from a foreign country – not even Jews! Today, the Lord assures us that the gift is FOR YOU – wherever you may be, whatever your situation might be. Whether you are home-bound or homeless, whether on welfare or well-funded, Jesus is for you. Jesus is there for the single mom who holds down two part-time jobs, just to almost make it through. He is there for the children who wear clothes that were hand-me downs from last year’s fashions. He is there for the man whose “grocery shopping trip” is done at the local food pantry. Jesus didn’t come to fill the closet or pantry. He came to fill you with peace and contentment because He is for you.

The gift is for you – whose heart is sad this Christmastime, surrounded by so much merriment, wondering why no one understands your pain. The gift is for you – who is chronically ill, tired of doctors tests and appointments. The gift is for you – who has only questions about “what next?” but never seem to find an answer. The gift is for you – who believes that Jesus is Savior, but struggles with what that means day in and day out when life is so hard. Unto you is born a Savior is Christ the Lord. He doesn’t necessarily take away your illness, but he gives you the strength to bear it, in faith. And, when you can’t bear it any more, He holds you in His arms so that you know nothing will separate you from His love. His power is perfect in your weakness.

This gift is for you – who celebrates tonight and tomorrow with an empty spot at the table because a loved one isn’t there any longer. Nothing will replace the loss of a wife or husband, mother or father, brother or sister, son or daughter. Jesus doesn’t suddenly raise the one who has died, but He does comfort you with the assurance that those who die in the Lord continue to live in the Lord. For that reason, you will see your loved one again, and you will also live forever with your loved one in the presence of Christ and all others who are His. You can trust that to be true because of the angel’s message: unto you is born a Savior who is Christ the Lord.

The gift is also for you – who have everything your heart could desire: health, family, home, food, employment, and joy-filled peace. Thanks be to God for these gifts. These are symbols that point to the greatest gift of all, Jesus, who is yours forever.

Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever your circumstance: the gift of Jesus is for you. Say this with me: Jesus is for me. Jesus is my gift. Jesus has your name on Himself. Whether you are rich or poor or somewhere in between, He is your true treasure. Whether you are young or old, He is the one whose days are without number. Whether you are overwhelmed by loneliness or caught up with the crowd, He is the one who is your true friend and companion.

Wherever you are tonight or tomorrow – at home, at a hospital, at a nursing home, or somewhere between; whether you have gifts under the tree, or even if there is no tree in sight let alone a present; whether you are alone or surrounded by loved ones – here is one gift that does not fail, one gift that does not disappoint. Tonight, receive the greatest gift in the world. Truly, this gift is heavenly, divine, perfect, and just the right size. This gift is the precious, life-giving gift that God has given you. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 

This is God’s gift. Unwrap it. Embrace it. Love it. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. He your greatest gift – for you. Amen.

The Impossible Possibility of Advent - Luke 1: 39-45

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The time between Thanksgiving thru New Years usually brings families together. It’s a time to visit with family perhaps not seen for months, coming together around the dinner table and the Christmas tree to celebrate, remember, tell stories and give thanks to God for the time together. For those of us whose families are scattered, these times are treasured because we get to see in person those whom we love from afar.

This morning’s Gospel lesson sets the scene for us with a very unlikely family reunion when the young mother Mary goes to visit her cousin, Elizabeth.

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that house when Mary arrived. It’s been my experience that it’s not that unusual for women who are pregnant to share their stories, their mutual joys and their mutual struggles. I suspect this is particularly true for first-time mothers to seek out this kind of mutual companionship and support. A younger mother, wanting and needing the wisdom and assurance that can only be provided by mothers who have given birth previously, seeks out an older mother to serve as a mentor, companion and friend in the journey towards giving birth.

But this was a most unusual gathering of two mothers-to-be.  Two first-time mothers, but one quite elderly and the other – at least according to tradition – young enough to be her granddaughter.

First, consider Elizabeth. Earlier, Luke noted she was advanced in years (1:18b). That’s Luke’s polite and genteel way of saying she was an older woman, no longer biologically capable of having a child. You remember the story. She and her husband Zechariah wanted a child desperately, but the Lord did not allow this blessing to come to them. The inability to have a child was, in the early Jewish world, a demonstration that you were in disfavor with God. No child – especially no son – led to the conclusion that either the husband or wife had done something to cause God to be so displeased that they would have no heir and the family name would die with them. But miraculously, by the grace of God and according to the angel’s message, Elizabeth was carrying the child who would be the forerunner of the Messiah. Her husband, not believing the angel’s message, was struck mute. I’m speculating here, but for that reason alone – to have someone to talk with - Elizabeth must have enjoyed the company of her fellow mother-to-be, Mary when she came to visit.

Mary was much younger than her relative. Truthfully, her age is irrelevant. What matters is that she, by the grace of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit, is carrying in her womb the son of God. She had been told of this news by the angel, Gabriel. Hearing this remarkable news, she simply declares herself a servant of the Lord; may it be according to the word of the angel. Likewise, her fiancée, Joseph, was told by an angel of Mary’s pregnancy but, unlike Zechariah, who simply could not believe the news of Elizabeth, Joseph obeys the angel’s command and takes Mary into his home as his wife.

Have you ever wondered why Mary went to visit Elizabeth? Perhaps there were whispers in Nazareth about Mary and Joseph, her being pregnant already before their wedding consummation. Perhaps she was tired of the community’s negative attention; maybe Joseph was too and readily agreed. Perhaps she heard of Elizabeth’s joyous news that she, too, would be a mother and Mary wanted to share the excitement with her relative. Whatever the reason, Mary goes to visit Elizabeth. Wonder of wonders, the joy is so great that Elizabeth, upon hearing Mary’s greeting, experienced John’s leaping in her womb and blesses both Mary and the unborn Baby Jesus.

In this visit, you see the miraculous power of God.

He does the impossible: Elizabeth is too old to bear a child; Mary is a virgin. By the power of the Spirit of God, both women conceive – Elizabeth by natural means, Mary by Divine action. Elizabeth’s son will be the forerunner of Mary’s Son. Elizabeth’s son, who will be named John, will be the culmination of the Old Testament prophets to proclaim “The Messiah is coming,” and the first of the New Testament evangelists to proclaim, “Behold the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.” Mary’s Son will be God enfleshed, the sinless Lamb who will be sacrificed for the sins of the world.

But, perhaps the greatest albeit most hidden miracle is this: by the grace of God, enabled by the spirit of God, they are given the gift of faith, both believing what would be otherwise unbelievable news about their pregnancy. Even greater is Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaims that Mary is to be the mother of God.

Neither Mary nor Elizabeth know, at this point, what is in store for their sons – at least, not completely. Yes, the angel had spoken prophetically to Zechariah about how John would be a great servant of the Lord, Spirit-filled, and in the footsteps of Elijah, he will turn the hearts of many to the Lord and prepare the way for the Lord. And, yes, the angel had also spoken to Mary, telling her that she will miraculously conceive the Son of the Most High, in the line of David. No ordinary child, this baby will be the holy Son of God.

A moment ago, I said that without an heir, a family line will die. Without a male heir, a family name will cease. These are as true today as it was then. In the Biblical age, this was considered a curse of God. But because of a curse of God, spoken in the Garden long ago, this heir was infinitely more important. When God’s first son and first daughter, Adam and Eve, ate of the forbidden fruit, God spoke a curse upon them, and all of their sons and daughters, for their sins: they would die after a lifetime of toil, sweat, and tears. But, God also spoke a blessing: that His seed, His own child, would come to crush satan’s head underfoot. A second Son, a second Adam was needed – one who would perfectly fulfill God’s Law for us, and take our place under that Law, to redeem us from this curse of sin. The redemption price would be high – terribly high – and cost this Son his very life-blood, trading His holiness for the sins of the world. But in this death He would save. This Son, this fulfillment of God’s promise, was in Mary’s womb. His name would be Jesus, because He will save His people from our sins. Through Eve, sin came into the world and through Eve’s womb, hers and Adam’s sins are still passed on from generation to generation still today. But through the child of Mary’s womb, Eve’s sins, and Adam’s sins, and your sins and my sins, will be forgiven.

Visits last but a short time. A wise guy once said both family and fish start to stink after three days. Another wise guy said, you know Mary and Elizabeth were both blessed by the Spirit of God because two pregnant women were able to stand each other for three months. In all seriousness, I wonder if there weren’t moments that the two of them just sat, in silence, staring at each other, watching their babies squirm in their bellies, and giggling at the joyous thing that God was doing in and through them.

The joyous news of this visit continues today, even here among us. Did you catch the two words Elizabeth used to describe the baby in Mary’s womb? They are easy to miss. Let me read this again: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” There it is: my Lord. Elizabeth identifies Jesus as her Lord, her Savior, Her Messiah who would rescue her into eternity.

You share that confession. You said it a minute ago in the Creed, albeit in the plural: “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.” You, along with Elizabeth, empowered by the Spirit of God, know, believe, trust and rely that this Jesus who, even in Mary’s womb, was already then, and still is now, our Savior. From His conception to His life, death and resurrection, Jesus was and is entirely for you, children of God. And, so you have no doubt that Christ is your substitutionary sacrifice, you have been Baptized into Christ, clothed with Christ, and given the name of Christ - Christian.

Blessed is he and she – blessed are you - who believes that there was fulfillment of what was spoken to Mary from the Lord.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

Rejoice! The Advent Countdown Continues... Zephaniah 3: 14-20

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.  

Today is the third Sunday in Advent. The old, Latin name for this Sunday is “Gaudate.” You can hear our English word, “gaudy,” hiding in “Gaudate.” Think bright, celebratory, joyful and you got it. Today is Gaudate Sunday – the Sunday of rejoicing.

Traditionally, Advent was a somber season, almost along the lines of Lent. The Baptist’s preaching, calling the people to repent and branding them “a brood of vipers,” certainly set the stage for that understanding. Physically, the northern hemisphere is in the throes of winter with darkness coming earlier each day. With the somber tone of the season thus far and the physical darkness pressing in, the third Sunday of Advent provided a welcome contrast. The Advent wreath, which leads us through the season, gives us our first clue something is different today. Instead of the traditional purple or blue color, today’s pink candle stands out. And then, as we get into the liturgy with the hymns, the Introit and collect, and the readings, we are surrounded with joy and called to rejoice best summed up in the first verse of today’s Epistle lesson, “Rejoice in the Lord, always; again I will say, Rejoice.”

Joy is a spiritual fruit; it is a gift of God. A Christian’s joy comes from outside of us. You’ve heard me say it before; we are beggars with empty sacks – how could we create joy on our own? So, Jesus fills us up with joy. Christian joy is different than happiness; isn’t merely a feeling or an emotion. It is a state of being. Filled with the joy of Christ, what else can we do, what else can we be other than joyful, for we are joy-filled!

And there should be rejoicing in Advent. Christ’s advent is nigh – first, in time as a child in Bethlehem; second, in eternity when He returns in glory to judge the living and the dead. The day is soon approaching. We are a mere nine days away from the celebration of His Nativity; we are a day closer to the day of His return. We, as His people, live in His grace and mercy, trusting that in Him our sins are forgiven. What great news!   This is what allows Paul to say in this morning’s Epistle, “Rejoice in the Lord always!”

Ah, there’s the rub – isn’t it? “Always.” How on earth are we supposed to rejoice always? Turn on the news for thirty minutes; flip through the paper; scan the internet. How are we supposed to be joyful when there are so many things that are going on around us that are anything but joy-full? Three words are repeated over and over, “it’s the economy,” in many contexts, to justify pink slips, the price of the Christmas ham, and the volume of gifts purchased. An airplane literally fell out of the sky, sending unsuspecting drivers to the hospital. The late-season hay cutting was wonderful, but will it be enough to get through what could be a dry winter and spring?  Suicide rates escalate this time of year for both senior citizens and teenagers; one can’t take the loneliness, the other can’t stand the pressure. The budget is screaming, things are so tight. Do we put gifts under the tree or tires under the car? There’s family pressure: Mom and Dad are fighting again. Health challenges arise, and we sing the modern Christmas song, “Four new prescriptions, three medical tests, two new appointments, and a whopper of a medical bill.”

 

I think the Baptizer would have empathized. After all, he had spent his entire ministry preaching a message of preparation and repentance. But the Jesus that he is seeing and hearing about isn’t the Jesus he was expecting. It causes John to question, to wonder, perhaps even a measure of doubt, “Are you the one, or is there another one coming? Did I misunderstand? Did I miss the signs? John expected a winnowing fork, a fuller’s fire but what Jesus does is the exact opposite. Yet, that’s where Jesus points John: to the signs and wonders, to the blind receiving sight, the deaf being able to hear, and the lame walking. These demonstrate that Jesus is God in flesh – who else could do such a miracle? And, if Jesus is able to do these things, then surely He is able to do even more: to save His people.

So, where do you find joy on this third Sunday of Advent, this Joy Sunday, when we are surrounded by these things that suck the joy right out of our lives?

With Chris in the Navy, I joined a Facebook group that supports sailors and their families. I can tell you, life has been coming a little harder and heavier for those folks, too. The other day, someone posted that a sailor had lost both his parents this year and he needed a little Christmas cheer. Well, that one kinda got my attention, so I volunteered to write the sailor. The other day at the grocery store, I looked for a special Christmas card. I thought about going with something goofy to try to cheer him up, or something sappy and sentimental, but that seemed like a slippery slope. No - I needed something that conveys the hope and joy that we have as Christians. Finally, I found one that had several Bible verses printed across the front. Good start. As I read through the first three verses, I thought, “This is nice…” But then, I got to the fourth verse and stopped. I read it; and then I re-read it. Where have I seen that before, I wondered…and then I looked at the reference. It was from a seemingly obscure book in the Old Testament. Now, we generally don’t spend much time in the Old Testament, so we are less familiar with it than the New Testament, and that’s particularly true of the so-called minor prophets in the end of the Old Testament. By the way, they’re called “minor” due to their literary size, not because of having a less important message. But what we call the Old Testament is what John, or Peter, or Mary or Joseph for that matter, it’s what they would have simply known as their Bible, the Scriptures. The New Testament wasn’t written until a generation after Jesus’ ascension, remember? So, back to this card… The reference was from Zephaniah 3:17 – the last verse of this morning’s first reading. “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by His love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

The prophet is reminding God’s people of old, held captive in the heathen land of Babylon, that even in that foreign place, even in their seemingly joyless circumstance, God is still among His people. He will not abandon them. The prophet turns the people back to God: His gladness, His love, His rejoicing, His singing, His saving work for them.

This is what Zephaniah would do for us as well, God’s 21^st century people. He gently turns us from all of those things that would distract us, from those things that would drain the joy from our lives, and instead turns us back towards Jesus, Who came into our midst as a Immanuel, God with us, in flesh, to be as us in every way, but without sin. The Mighty One, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross and scored it’s shame does, indeed, save. This Jesus rejoices with every sinner who repents and trusts in His death and resurrection. He quiets the troubled conscience with His mercy and grace and fills them with His joy, His singing, His love.

So, I told you about the card and Zephaniah 3:17 being there and how those words were written roughly 2600 years ago. Now, I want to share something Luther wrote on this verse 500 years ago. He said:

These things signify that their consciences would experience that fatherly sweetness of the Kingdom of the Lord. The sense is this: You will feel joy. You will feel in your conscience that the Lord is kindly disposed toward you, that he surely is a kind father to you in all things. You see, the Lord is said to rejoice over us when he causes us to sense his favor. He has expressed the nature of the Kingdom of Christ very aptly and emphatically. For thus it happens for the righteous that he allows them to be attacked, in various ways, and to be troubled by many evils, so that they may be comforted to their King. Yet he adds that feeling of joy, that security of heart, so that all things may become sweeter, so that nothing is able to separate them from the love of God. (Citation: Harrison, Matthew. Little Book of Joy, p. 16; CPH © 2009)

On this Third Sunday in Advent, if there are things in this life and this world that are troubling you, weighing your heart and conscience down, follow the words of Zephaniah who leads you back to Jesus. In Christ, rejoice in the Lord always. And on those days when you can’t rejoice, those days when your heart is too heavy, or your mind is too troubled, or your soul is almost overwhelmed, then bring your empty sack to Jesus. His rejoicing is full; His rejoicing is complete; His rejoicing is perfect and He fills your empty sack for you so that His joy overflows in you.  

Come, Emmanuel, Come - Luke 19: 28-40

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Once again, the season of Advent has arrived and, with it, the pre-Christmas excitement. There are Christmas trees, garlands, tinsel, wreaths, and inflatable Santas and bending reindeer everywhere you turn and Christmas music fills stores and airwaves.

The church tries to tap the brakes on Christmas. We’re not Scrooge McDucks, stomping on the brakes and coming to a complete halt. We just want to slow down a bit and savor where we are. Advent doesn’t mean pre-Christmas, even though Christmas is close-at-hand. The name Advent means Coming. The season is two-fold: to remember Christ's coming in time 2000 years ago, God hidden in flesh as a baby in Bethlehem, while also reminding us that Christ will come again, as we say in the Creed, in glory to judge the living and the dead. Meanwhile, the church waits in the middle, with Advent expectation, as Christ continues to come to us, hidden-yet-revealed, in Word and Water, in Bread and Wine. Traditionally, it was a season of repentance, recognizing that it was our sins that caused the Father to send His Son and take on human flesh to dwell among us. The colors of the season are either blue or purple, colors of royalty, symbolizing that Christ is the King. While we do give a nod to Christmas, with the tree up, we don’t jump in with both feet. The Advent Wreath serves as our anchor, keeping us from speeding too soon to the Manger. The Church resides in this in-between time, this Advent time, of watching and waiting, anticipating the day that Jesus fulfills his promises and returns to take His church to be with him into eternal glory.

But all around us in the secular world. Out there, it’s simply called the Christmas season or, a more nebulous holiday season. The other day I heard someone on TV say that he loves this time of the year. After all, he said, it's all about family and friends and giving gifts of love to each other. They're missing out on the entire purpose of what Advent is about, let alone Christmas. It's ultimately not about family, or friends, or food, or presents, or who got the fruit cake from last year, It's about Christ and his coming as a child in Bethlehem.

Theirs was a commentary of the times and a window into the mindset of the world in which we live. But when you have a misunderstanding of what Advent is about, and you have a misconception of who Christ is, of course you're going to completely misunderstand what both Advent and Christmas is about. And when that happens, you miss the whole reason that Christ came in the first place.

It may seem odd that this morning's gospel reading is the Palm Sunday narrative, Jesus entering the holy City of Jerusalem heading toward his passion, death, and crucifixion on the cross. But the reason that this is the first Sunday of Advent reading, is that it demonstrates the whole purpose of Christ's Ministry. He was coming into Jerusalem, entering into the City of David so that he could take his rightful place at his throne.

His throne would be unlike any other throne that any other king had ever sat upon, a throne not for splendor and majesty and power and awe, but a throne for suffering. It wouldn't be a throne made from precious metals and adorned with stones and jewels, but a throne of rough hewn wood. There wouldn't a raised upper throne room, but there would be a hill outside of the city walls, a place where the worst of the worst would reside instead of kings and queens. It was called Golgatha, the Place of the Skull, a place where murderers, criminals, insurrectionist's, the very worst that society has to offer. This is the place where His throne would be found. Is a place where this King of Kings and Lord of Lords would reign, where His glory would be seen, among the worst of the worst, the sinners of all sinners. That is where Jesus throne was to be found. 

But on that Palm Sunday morning, that's not what the people were expecting. They were expecting a king’s king to come in glory with power, pomp and circumstance. They were expecting a king along the lines of King David who rode into Jerusalem with crowds shouting his praises. They were expecting a king who would throw out the Romans, put Israel back on the map and re-establish Jerusalem to be the holy capitol city of an Israelite empire as it was under David and Solomon centuries earlier. Even the disciples were thinking that this was going to be some kind of a power play. Perhaps they too would join in some kind of cabinet where they could be the secretary of abundance, the under-secretary of bread and wine and the minister of healing and miracles.

When you have a misunderstanding of who and what Jesus is all about, then, there is also a misunderstanding of what Jesus has come to do.

Jesus riding into Jerusalem is God’s way of literally interrupting the world’s plans. It’s Jesus way of saying, “I’m here to do something unexpected.” On this first Sunday of Advent, this first day of a new Church year, it’s worth pausing, slowing, and re-centering our eyes on Jesus.

If all you think Christmas is only about family and friends, presents and trees, then you are as misguided as the ancient citizens of Jerusalem who lined the streets to welcome the King they expected. Then you forget the whole purpose of Jesus coming. The name Jesus tells us who and what he is: savior. Jesus means savior. The Angel would tell Mary and Joseph to name him Jesus because he's going to save his people from their sins. He's not going to take the lives of many. Rather, he will give his life for many.

God the Father has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to bear your sin and be your Savior. The suffering of Jesus was not an accident. It was not just what happens to a nice person who loves in a world filled with hate. It was purposeful. God the Father sent His Son into the world to defeat all the forces that oppose His Kingdom. Jesus came to bear sin and bring forgiveness, to defeat death and bring life, to conquer Satan and bring salvation.

No matter where you are in the Church Year, no matter what texts of Scripture you are reading, no matter what hymns you are singing, this is the reason why God is here: To bring you forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Jesus comes to take us to what lies at the heart of the matter: God’s love for His creatures. It may not take away the anxiety, but it sets you on solid ground. You are a child in a kingdom where God, your Father, loves you. At the heart of His love is the person of His Son. Though it leads to His death, Jesus will do the work of His Father. He will come and bear what needs to be borne, fight what needs to be fought, and die to put to death what needs to end, so He might rise and bring the beginning of life, eternal life to you.

So, in this secular world of pre-Christmas, I invite you to rest in Advent for just a moment. Jesus has come. Not in Jerusalem, but here. Not on a colt but in His Word. Not surrounded by crowds throwing cloaks on a road, but still surrounded by disciples. You and me. Here, in this place, Jesus comes to remind and assure us. Grace is the reason He is here.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.